Plaited article



Nov. 1, 1938. opp N' 2,135,236

PLAI'IED ARTICLE Filed Dec. 16, 1953' INVENTOR [ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present improvements relate to plaited articles made of fibrous material as well as to methods of manufacturing and fabricating such articles.

A primary object of the improvements is to provide improved receptacles having plaited walls adapted to a plurality of uses.

A further object is to provide novelty hats, shades and the like having curved, plaited walls for ornamental purposes as well as for utility.

Another object of the improvements, is to provide protecting units for articles such as pies, fruits or the like wherein the units have curved plaited walls affording adjustability and eXpansion.

An additional object of the improvements is to provide an improved receptacle or wrapper having plaits or corrugations, with a flat or unplaited portion disposed within the plaited area for receiving lettering or other indicia.

A further object is to provide improved methods of creating and forming the articles and giving them the required shape.

Other objects and advantages of the improvements will be apparent upon reference to the accompanying specification and drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the present improvements embodied in the form of a receptacle or ba Fig. 2 is a section on line I2-l2 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a bottle wrapper embodying the present improvements;

Fig. 4 is a section on line l4l4 of Fig. 3.

As stated in my earlier copending application, the articles are preferably manufactured by the pulp-suction felting process in which forms having the shape and contour of the finished article are passed through a bath of loose fibres with suction behind. the forms to draw the fibres against them and form a coating thereon which when removed and dried becomes the finished article.

The illustrated embodiments of the improvements may be manufactured preferably in extensible, contractible sheets having therein a plurality of plaits, folds or the like which are yieldable or elastic and will exert tension when stretched or expanded and pressure when compressed, due to the character of the material and the form of the plaits made of such material and composing the sheets. As illustrated the sheets may be made substantially fiatwise and then formed into hollow articles by uniting their edges transversely or they may be created in their final hollow form or shape and used in that manner, or inverted by turning inside out to produce the form and shape desired. Other methods may be practiced without departing from the scope of the improvements.

Upon reference to Figs. 1 to 4 several types of receptacles are illustrated. In Figs. 1 and 2, a bag 50 with handles 5| for carrying loose articles, such as groceries, bundles, packages or the like, is provided with plaits 52 in the walls, so as to be yieldable, permitting expansion and contraction, thereby being of variable capacity. As

seen in Figs. 1 and 2 the plaits 52 are provided with inwardly curved top ends 53, so as to provide a restricted opening at the top of the bag, thereby bringing the handles 5! close together and facilitating their grasp by one hand. If desired, the handles may be replaced. or supplemented by pull cords which may be threaded through holes (not shown) in the parts 53 and then pulled taut after the fashion of a pouch.

The bottom of the bag 50 may be designed in various ways. In the illustrated embodiment the lower ends of the plaits 52, are provided with integral inwardly projecting plaits 54 which extend inwardly toward each other and are secured together by stapling, stitching or otherwise. An integral and plaited bottom having yieldability and expansibility is therefore provided. As aforementioned, the plaited sheet for forming the bag 50 may be made fiatwise and. then cut and stapled to provide the desired form.

The bottle packing unit in Figs. 3 and 4 embracing the bottle 6| is of the type described in detail in my copending application. The plaits 62 extend between opposite ends of the unit, are

expansible and contractible and protect the bottle against blows from all sides. The lower open end provided by the plaited annulus 63 is contractible and holds the bottle within the packing, but is yieldable to permit entry and removal thereof. Toward the upper portion of the unit the plaits are oifset to provide a narrower form-fitting unit which conforms to the shoulder and neck outline of the bottle. The wrapper (ill is made from a sheet of pulp material which is made flatwise and preformed with the plaits offset before the sheet is applied to the bottle. The sheet may then be cut to a suitable length and the longitudinal edges joined by staples, stitches or the like to form the yieldable jacket 6|].

This protective covering holds itself on the bottle and unless it is transparent, the identity of the bottle may not be determined without removing the covering. The present improvements 1 accordingly are designed to provide indicia means on an otherwise plaited packing unit. As seen in Figs. 3 and 4 the plait 62a is interrupted between its ends so as to provide two aligned but separated plait sections. These sections are connected by an integral flat surface 64 which faces outwardly and is unobscured. This flat surface may be countersunk from either the inner or outer face of the unit. so long as it presents a space open to the eye of an observer.

This flat surface 64 is bounded on all sides by plaits so that protection of the bottle is not sacrificed. A suitable stamp, lettering or label may be placed on the fiat surface to indicate the contents of the wrapper. If desired suitable lettering, emblem or other indicia may be provided on the foraminous die or form upon which the wrapper is created from the raw pulp. This indicia will then appear embossed on the fiat space 64 of the wrapper. In providing the improvement, no features of the wrapper are sacrificed.

Obviously, other flat surfaces'may be provided by interrupting a plait on an opposite side of the wrapper, or two or more plaits maybe interrupted and flat surfaces of larger area may be provided. In this connection attention is invited to the flat surface 66 in Figs. 1 and 2. In those views a number of plaits have been interrupted so that the flat surface is of greater proportions and may therefore receive a larger label or other identifying or advertising matter. As seen in Fig. 2, two such flat surfaces 66 may be provided, one on the front and one on the rear face.

I claim: 1. A receptacle of fibrous sheet material comprising upstanding side walls and means defining a bottom, said side walls comprising a plu.

' cent ends of said plait sections and'with the sides of contiguous plaits.

3. A bottle packing unit of flexible but relatively resistant material comprising a jacket-like member having portions of its entire area provided with substantially parallel plaits extending between opposite edges of the jacket, certain of said plaits being of less extent than con tiguous plaits for affording flat portions for accommodating indicia therebetween.

' MORRIS KOPPELMIAN. 

